ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 69,679 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 425,930 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 69,679 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $64,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.53.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $151.89 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.